


Never Forget

by OmniGamer



Series: Beyond Serious [2]
Category: Saints Row
Genre: F/M, On Hiatus, Post-Canon, Time Travel
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-09-11
Updated: 2017-01-22
Packaged: 2018-04-20 06:14:25
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 12,046
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4776659
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OmniGamer/pseuds/OmniGamer
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It’s been a year since the Saints managed to fend off the Zin invasion, but not all is well with the Saints, or at least its Boss. Exiled for life from his home and planet, hidden tensions begin to rise, and a new threat rises from the shadows.</p><p>Tags may change in the future.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Boss in Exile

**Author's Note:**

> I combined two requests: a Shaundi x Boss story and a Lin x Boss that I received a while back. So yes, if there is a story or relationship ect. people want to see me write just send me a message or leave a comment, whatever is easier I guess. :p
> 
> I don't know how the first chapter ended up being as long as it is.... sorry?

The metal doors of the commandeered Zin ship slid open. Shaundi’s back was to him. The Boss leaned up against the wall to look as nonchalant as possible. “Hey, Shaundi. Umm, you got a minute?” She looked up from the glowing monitor, that somehow managed to hit all the right contours of her face - making it look... _angelic_. The chair squeaked as she pulled away from the desk.

Shaundi tucked a few loose hairs behind her ear that had wriggled their way out of her tight ponytail. “Sure Boss. What’s up?” As her eyes met his, he felt all his thoughts come crashing to a halt. Any forethought had been for naught.

“It’s been a helluva ride, hasn’t it…?” _What was he doing? He was acting like some awkward teenager. Come on, man up! You aren’t a virgin._

She smiled in response. Despite everyone on board wearing the same green-grey jumpsuit, she managed to make it suit her. “That’s an understatement.”

“You changed so much.” And he meant it. She was stronger now, but somehow... softer. Ever since Johnny came back; it was like Gat brought back something Shaundi had lost.

“We both have.”

How much he wanted to touch her. Hold her in his arms. To… kiss her. Instead, he settled with crossing his arms over his similar grey jumpsuit. “Hey whatever happened to that guy who won your dating show?” It might have sounded dumb, but he couldn’t help it. He was curious if not a little jealous.

“Puerto Rican Thunder God? He was sweet and all, but... performance didn’t live up to the name.” There was a smirk on her lips that hadn’t been there before, and he gulped slightly.

“Look I gotta tell you something…it always drove me crazy that you had ex’s in every city and were willing to go on a dating show, but not once did you give me a shot.” It wasn’t often that he spilled out his guts to someone, well besides the paramedics who dragged him back to the hospital on more than one occasion. He just wanted to say it, more like he needed to say it.

She leaned in coyly. The Boss didn’t know where she got the perfume, but she was definitely wearing something… _lavender?_ “You never asked for one.”

“I’m asking now.” _Nailed it._

“Then let’s make up for lost time…” She grabbed his wrist and despite the thermostatically controlled air, her touch felt like fire.

****

The blue-grey metal of the Earth space vessel slowly came into focus as he opened his eyes. He felt the cool press of the mattress beneath him and realized it had been a dream.

It’s been close to a year since the Saints won their battle over the Zin, but it came at a cost. While those that still remained of the Saints were allowed passage between the ship and Earth for their efforts against the Zin, the Boss was less fortunate. He had been exiled from his home, his planet - Earth. Debate ran long on his crimes and despite the Boss’ hand in defeating the Zin leader the decision remained firm on his banishment. Politicians worried there would be too much civil unrest should he have been allowed to stay with all that had transpired due to him.

The Boss was not one to mind rules, no matter how severe, and those world leaders that had survived made sure to take note. To enforce his lifetime exile, the Boss was given two choices. Either be injected with a nano bomb that would detonate and kill him should he re-enter Earth’s atmosphere; or be stuck with Cyrus monitoring him 24/7. The Boss didn't even want to consider why Cyrus volunteered for such a proposition. Regardless, there was little hesitation when the Boss chose the former.

For now he was alone on the ship, save for CID who claimed to be more comfortable in space. It was good enough that they let the Saints keep the ship, not that the Boss couldn’t have taken one of the Zin’s ships. It somehow felt a little closer to home to be in an Earth’s vessel, even if it still felt like a prison. _A real nice prison… in space._

He lay in the bed letting it all sink in again. Despite all this time, it still didn’t feel real. Being with the simulated Shaundi felt more real than anything, but that was because he had been wanting her so badly for far too long. He didn’t even know if the real Shaundi was interested in anything beyond a physical relationship, and who was he to force his feelings on her. The Boss closed his eyes, trying to get back to his dream. _No luck._

He sat up and rubbed the sleep from his face. _Was it day? Night?_ Not that it mattered much in space, it was just nice to know. The Boss pulled himself away from the comfort of his mattress and headed to the ship’s small bathing room.

It was isolated from the rest of the ship with only a small filtered vent for air in the side of the wall. He figured the reason was to prevent mishap if the gravity generators went down while someone was taking a shower. _Water in the machinery never sounded like a good idea._ A large tank of clean water possessed the majority of one corner of the 5’x5’ room while another similarly sized collector tank sat in another. The Boss ignored much of the technobabble from the ship’s mechanic. To him, there wasn’t much he needed to know about a shower beyond it working. Clean water came out of one tank and the other collected the runoff, purified it, then pumped the distilled water back into the first tank.

Yawning he reached out for the spouts handle. _Hot or cold today?_ While the ship was designed with many common commodities it seems a temperature control for the shower had been too much to ask for. He let it sputter for a few seconds then put his hand tentatively into the constant stream. _Cold._ He slept naked so he didn’t have to strip down before stepping into the water.

He had forgotten he had fallen asleep with his hair dye in, and it was now pouring down his muscled body in red rivulets. It had taken awhile, but the Boss finally had regained the muscle mass he had lost during his four year imprisonment with the Zin.

The Boss grabbed the bottle of soap he had left previously and began to wash. Soapy suds joined the red water making the room appear to be the sight of a most peculiar bath time murder. It took two more wash and rinses before the water began running clear. With partially numb fingers, he fumbled for the nozzle and shut off the freezing water. The Boss grabbed a towel and wrapped it around his waist before leaving the bathing room.

Despite the cold water, his head was still filled with the fuzzy remnants of his tantalizing dream, and he didn’t notice her when he entered the usually empty hallway heading back to his room.

“Umm, hey Boss.” The voice belonged to Shaundi, and she seemed somewhat surprised to have caught him in nothing more than a towel.

Not as surprised as he was. “Heyyy…” He managed to say, a flushed embarrassment rising on his cheeks.

“I see you dyed it red again.” The Boss couldn’t tell if she noticed his beet face, but Shaundi had moved her eyes away from the fallen towel and was now looking at his hair.

“Yyyeah.” With one hand he nervously plucked at the coiled tendrils of his drying chin-length hair; the other hand was preoccupied with regaining his fallen dignity now on the steel floor. It wasn’t until the towel had been retrieved, re-wrapped around his waist, and two of its ends firmly clenched in a hand did he continue. “Pierce brought the dye by earlier.” The free hand, finding itself with nothing to do, awkwardly fumbled with the hair on the back of his head.

“Oh, ahh… it looks good. Makes you look like you were never… gone…” The Boss could feel the pain locked behind her hazel eyes.

For the Boss, it felt like he had never been apart, but for the Saints… it had been a hard four years. “Shaundi…”

“No, it’s okay.” Shaundi didn’t want his sympathy, and her body language made it obvious. She shook her head as if to clear away the memories. “I just came by to drop off the rest of the stuff you asked for.” She jerked her thumb over her shoulder in the general direction of his cabin.

“You know you could have just got someone else to do it. I may have been exiled, but the big-wigs downstairs seem obligated enough.”

The semblance of a smile returned to her face. “Well, I guess that’s what happens when half the world thinks you’re a hero and the other a dangerous sociopath.”

He leaned against the nearest wall and raised an eyebrow, ignoring how cold the metal felt on his bare skin. “Oh, so which one do you think I am?”

There was little to no hesitation in her answer. “A crazed mother-fucker.”

The Boss had to laugh. “At least you’re honest about it. Everyone else around here just grins and bears it.” It was the truth, and beyond those that had fought with him against the Zin, he was nothing more than air to the crew, more specifically those not yet replaced by a member of the Row.

“I guess that’s how it’s going to be around here, for a while at least. We’re trying to get together the crew so we have enough manpower to operate out here… but it’s going to take some time...”

“Look, don’t rush it. We need people we can trust, and that ain’t going to be something you can just ask for.” He reached out and put a hand on her shoulder. To her, his touch seemed to be nothing more than the assurance that she needed, but the Boss was hoping for her to see slightly more in it. With minor regret he let his hand fall awkwardly by his side.

“Well, you still got some of us at least.” _Was it his imagination or did her eyes linger on his just a tad longer than usual?_ She started walking back to the docking port behind him. The Boss could have let her go, but he couldn’t.

“Shaundi?” He called out to her departing figure.

She stopped and turned, a slight puzzled expression on her face. His mind raced. _What was he doing?_ “Yes, Boss?” Her voice punctured through his clouded mind.

“Are you… ummm. You know… seeing anyone right now?” He stammered.

There was a pause. A moment of complete confusion. “What?” _Not the best response I was expecting._ “Wait… are you asking if I’m dating anyone? Or if I’m sleeping with anyone?” She yelled back.

“Both?” Now it was his turn to be confused, and shouting down the narrow corridor wasn’t helping. A crewmember, one he didn’t recognize, quickly walked between Shandi and the Boss, their eyes glued to the clipboard in their hands. The Boss waited till they were once again out of sight. “Look I gotta tell you something…it always drove me crazy that you had ex’s in every city and were willing to go on a dating show, but not once did you give me a shot.” _It worked once, it might work again._ There was a stunned silence, and for an agonizing second the Boss didn’t know what to think.

Shaundi stood there, her figure silhouetted against the warm white lights of the ship’s hallway. He couldn’t see her expression and didn’t know what to expect from her extended silence. “You never asked!” Came her eventual response. And with it, she was gone.

He stood in the hallway clutching his towel for a few more awkward seconds before heading back to his room.

****

After dressing himself in a pair of briefs and blue jeans, he rifled through the box left on his bed. Beyond basic necessities - soap, underwear, condoms, pants - Shaundi had managed to sneak in two .45 Fletchers. _A woman after my own heart._ The Boss admired the pieces and placed them back into the bottom of the cardboard box, making sure to tuck them out of sight.

The smile that had snuck on his face, slowly faded as he thought back to the meeting in the hallway. He had to fight the urge to throw the box. Anywhere really, provided it made a loud satisfying noise. The cardboard crushed under his tightening grip.

But, he didn’t. He let the anger and frustration subside. Throwing a tantrum wouldn’t solve anything, least of all, having Shaundi come running into his arms. The Boss released his death-grip on the box. It fell back onto the mattress with a light tup. It’s contents rattling softly against each other.

A worried apprehension gripped him. _Did I really mean nothing to Shaundi? Did she only see me as her Boss?_ Getting progressively lost in his thoughts, he didn’t even hear the automatic door whoosh open.

“Boss?”

His heart nearly leapt out of the confines of his chest; instead, it hammered against the bones of his ribcage. Gathering what remained of his startled senses he turned and saw Shaundi standing in the soft blue-glow of his bedroom lights.

She shifted her weight from one foot to the other, her generous hips accentuating the action. “CID said you wanted to see me about something? I assumed he meant somewhere you weren’t flashing the whole ship.” Shaundi leaned up against the nearby wall, her arms crossed under her ample breasts.

Any possible thought was blown clear of his head. Any possible quip, any possible comment, anything. There was nothing left. Shaundi was still expecting some form of a response from the Boss beyond the dumbfounded expression currently plastered to his face. While CID may have likely sent Shaundi to his quarters as a friendly gesture, being caught unawares made the gesture somewhat void. “Ah… Ummm.” The Boss struggled for words, particularly anything intelligible, but nothing was jumping to mind.

Her lips drew back to a most curious smile. She was clearly enjoying his struggle and was suspiciously in no immediate hurry to hear his response. Shaundi teased a strand of hair loose from the tight ponytail on her head, and twirled it with a finger. “Well…” Inspecting the strand, she continued. “If you don’t need me for anything else.” She dropped the hair and pulled herself away from the wall.

Without thinking, the Boss had closed the short distance between them blocking the path with his bare arm. “Wait.” The almost pleading sound of his own voice surprised him.

She turned her face away from the door to meet his eyes. “Boss?” Her voice was questioning but it held a twinge of expectancy.

Her eyes. Those large hazel eyes drew him in. They drew him towards her. Closer. Closer. He was within mere inches of her now, the pleasant scent of her supple body wafting into his nostrils. The Boss breathed deeply, filling himself with her smell. To him, it was as if Shaundi were suddenly made of glass. He touched her with a shaky hand, brushing a few strands of loose hair away from her face. His thoughts turned to the drug-loving party girl he had met so many years ago, and the woman of his desires that now stood in front of him. “You’ve changed so much.” The Boss’ fingers lingered on her cheeks, his voice barely above a whisper.

She cupped his hand with hers. Her eyes coyly drifted to floor and back. “We both have.”

Her words acted as a sudden release. Emotions he had kept bottled away raged to the surface, erasing any self control he once had for her. Gripping Shaundi tightly, he pulled her in. The Boss kissed her. Kissed her with more passion than he had ever felt before, and for a few brief seconds he hoped she felt the same for him. The kiss felt like it would last forever; that time had slowed between them, freezing this perfect moment. They parted lips only briefly to take a breath of air, only to once more engage each other's lips.

As their bodies writhed together, the Boss’ hands slipped down to her waist and began a slow ascension, raising her stretchy tank-top with his trailing fingers. Shaundi’s hands were busy as well. Within moments, his belt clattered unheard to the steel floor. In a rhythmic dance of pushing and pulling, they somehow made it to the edge of his king-sized bed. Falling upon the mattress, it protested under their combined weight.

While he lay on his back, Shaundi’s hand reached for him beneath his jeans. In a quick motion, he reversed their positions. The Boss steadied himself atop her, his hands bracing his weight to either side. His lips finally left hers as he released an exclamation of ecstacy at her grasping touch of his manhood.

Flashing him one of her mischievous grins, Shaundi stated with a child-like glee, “I lied about CID.”

“I know.” Was all he could reply with, dropping her shirt and bra to an empty space of the mattress. With a twist of his hand her jeans opened easily, revealing a purple Saints brand thong. The Boss raised a teasing eyebrow, “Really?”

She punched him lightly on his chest. “Like you should talk, Mr. Heart Boxers.”

“Guilty as charged.” He leaned down and kissed her.

In the following moments, they were no different from beasts acting on primal urges. The mattress groaned and squeaked under their persistent pounding, threatening more than once to break under the force.

They finally separated, panting from their prior exertions. Sometime during their lovemaking, Shaundi had lost the elastic holding her ponytail together. Instead, her hair spilled against the white sheets of the mattress, surrounding her head with a chestnut halo. Her bare chest rose and fell with each breath.

She turned and a warm smile spread across her face; she had caught him staring. “You know, after being let down by the Puerto Rican Thunder ‘God’, I’d figured that ‘Boss’ wouldn’t be much of an improvement. No offense.”

“So, I’m taking that as ‘you were _pleasantly_ surprised?’”

“More or less.” Shaundi stretched to kiss him again. However, Instead of their lips meeting, Shaundi was knocked off-balance by the ship’s sudden bucking. Consequently, she ended up sprawled across his equally naked body. “The fuck was that?” She said, quickly righting herself.

“I don’t-” The Boss was cut off by a sudden siren blaring over the intercom speakers. The blue lights of the cabin turning red as another shock wave hit.

Sharing a look of concern, the Boss and Shaundi gathered the scattered remnants of their clothing. Seconds later, the Boss was clothed and running toward the ship’s bridge with Shaundi close on his heels.

****

An automatic door whoosh later and the Boss was demanding an answer from the first available crewmate.

A woman, only having recently joined the Saints Row, was the one who bore the brunt of his questions. “I d-d-don’t know… sir.” She stammered. “They just came out of nowhere.” Her body was shaking, obviously frightened by the recent assault on the ship and by the Boss’ sudden arrival.

“They?”

The woman pointed to the colored monitor in front of her. Hundreds, _no thousands_ , of unknown space ships clouded the usual starry screen.

Shaundi came up beside him and uttered the same words on his mind. “What the fuck are those?”

“Don’t know.” He responded.

“I do.” Came CID’s voice. Even a year later, it was still difficult to accept CIDs new body, _well original body_ , especially when CID went from a floaty three feet of smooth aluminium to a solid ten feet of muscle, fur, and scales. The same siren that had summoned the Boss and Shaundi had aroused CIDs concerns as well. “But it’s not good.”

The woman still sitting forgotten at the terminal, slunk back, and quickly retreated to some other empty station at CIDs arrival.

“What are we dealing with here, CID?” The Boss’ eyes never left the screen.

“Kor’uhx. The Zin are mere infants by comparison.”

“What do we do then?”

“We run.”

Now out in space there was no better person to ask for advice than CID, but the idea of the tall dragon-like alien sounding even remotely scared, flummoxed the Boss. “You got to be kidding me!”

CID ignored the stunned look stuck to the Boss’ face. “I am not. This would be an inappropriate time for kidding. It would be in our best interest to flee while the ship has only sustained light damage.”

“Then what. Obviously they aren’t here for sight-seeing. We leave I’m pretty sure I can guess what is going to happen to the planet we just managed from the last alien fucks. No, fucking way. We’re the Saints! We’ve taken on guys with worse odds, and won.”

Shaundi, not to be forgotten, leaned in to voice her opinion. “I agree with the Boss. Surely, there is something we can do?”

“What you are asking of this ship and crew is suicide. As it stands, this ship is currently barely operable with its skeleton crew and over half are, in fact, not Saints. Not to mention to take on that many Kor’uhx we will need an army, not a barely functioning ship.”

CID spoke the truth, and the Boss knew it, still, it didn’t stop him from struggling with his inner conflictions. Then, like a bolt out of the blue, an idea hit him. “CID did you and Kinzie ever get that Zin time machine hooked up to the ship’s systems?”

The alien hesitated but answered regardless in his monotonous tone. “Yes…”

“I’m guessing you have a plan?” Said Shaundi.

“We’ll run for it. CID’s right, on our own we can’t win, and the only other ships not commandeered by the incompetent Cyrus are miles away by now, not to mention swarming with Zin.”

“Boss. Running can’t be the answer. We still got guys down there.”

“But not enough. We’ll grab them first, but for this plan to work we’re going to need more Saints.”

“I hardly say that this is the time to run a mass recruitment drive, especially considering what Zinyak did to those of ours that were still in Stillwater and Steelport.” Shaundi was beginning to sound more and more doubtful.

“Exactly why we aren’t going to be in this time.” The Boss grabbed the intercom microphone. “CID how soon can you get the time machine fired up and ready to go?”

“A matter of minutes.” CID replied.

“Good go start it up. I’ll join you in a bit.” CID nodded briefly, then withdrew himself from the bridge. The Boss fiddled with the ‘on’ switch and a loud feedback screech echoed through the system before he had the chance to adjust the volume. “Testing… one, two, three. Okay, everyone can hear me? Alright. It has come to my attention and probably already a good number of you that we are under attack. As it stands we have two choices: flee and leave the good people of Earth to the mercy of these new assholes, or…” The Boss paused for dramatic effect. “Tear these fuckers a new one!” A rowdy cheer went up from his fellow Saints and there was a stifled silence from those not part of the gang. The Boss waited for the cheering to die down before continuing. “This will probably be our most difficult fight yet, but we’ve prevailed again and again under worse odds, and there’s nothing stopping us from doing it again. Right now, trying to fight these guys would be suicide, so instead we are going to do a little time-traveling to even out the numbers. Those not interested in joining in on our adventure feel free to use the escape pods within the next ten minutes, after that we’re gone.” The Boss shut off the microphone and tossed it aside.

For the first time since his exile he felt a sense of respect from those not yet part of the Saints, and he would later learn not a single one member had used an escape pod. Saint or otherwise.


	2. Playa

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some people got confused when I posted this chapter a while back on fanfic... This is a time skip back in time, the point of view is from the 'Boss' during the period of the first game with changes as the 'current' Saints mount a rescue...

Even if he craned his neck to see behind him, he couldn't see her in the wet darkness of the car trunk. He couldn't see her, but he could still hear her. She was laughing. Laughing as she talked about Donnie claiming that she was his girl. Lin was strong, but fear can do strange things, well that and shock.  _ Shock from being shot in the side by a psychopathic asshole in a suit. _

Beyond the overpowering smell of the brown river water worming its way into the trunk, he could smell the metallic tang of blood.  _ Was it his or hers? _ Sharp had shot both of them, but as dazed as he was, he couldn't feel the pain. He fought against the duct-tape that bound his wrists behind his back, but couldn't find the strength to break it.

Between bouts of consciousness, he heard Lin wondering where her lighter was.  _ That damned lighter, she somehow was always missing it. _ She was wriggling against her own bonds that held her arms in front of her. Her knees bumped into his bare back as she searched for her lighter in the dark. "Hey, hang in there. It's going to be okay." He didn't know if she was saying it for him, or more for herself. "Hey?" This time she purposefully bumped him. "You're no good to us dead."

He murmured something as an acknowledgment, a dazed smile on his face. 

****

She had said that before.  _ At the nightclub, what was its name again? Doesn't matter. _ All he could remember was her standing on its dance floor. He was there for a mission, though it was more of an excuse to see her again, and when she pulled on his arm to bring him in closer, it brought forth all kinds of emotions. And the feelings remained even after she pulled away to rejoin the Rollerz, lest they grow suspicious with her extended absence.

Before all of this he wouldn't be one to believe in love at first sight, but Lin changed all that. It was in the Saints' church that he first saw her. He couldn't quite place what attracted him to her in the first place. Sure the 'hey-look-at-me' low cut sleeveless vest helped some, but it was more than just purely a sexual attraction. It was in the way she held herself, the way she moved. She exuded a confidence that he just hadn't seen in another woman, and decking the smartass who called her a hoe just made her all the more attractive. 

****

There was a thud, and the compact world of Lin's trunk tilted as the car hit the riverbed. It jostled the pair and Lin grunted in pain.  _ She was feeling it worse than he was. _ But the panic was short-lived. With the shift in orientation she had found her lighter. One flick, two flicks. He heard the spark wheel click, as Lin tried to get the flame lit. Water was licking up against his ear, and he tried to shift his head away.

"Good… you're still with me…" There was something worrying about her voice. The way it sounded. It was just above a whisper. "Hold… still…" He felt the warmth of the flame as she moved it closer to his bound hands. It started warm but soon quickly grew exceedingly hot and he flinched against the heat. The duct tape bubbled as the glue warmed and he felt its strength disappear. With a tug his arms were free, though now slightly burned and tender.

They were sitting in an inch of murky water now, and from what little glow of her lighter he could see that she wasn't doing well. Her eyes were barely focusing as her grip on the lighter slipped, once again plunging them into darkness.

With little time to lose he fumbled around, trying to reach her bound wrists in the tight space. "Too far…" He heard her wheeze, and he realized he had accidentally groped her. He quickly withdrew and tried again, this time with more luck. "You… got… to… get… outta… here…"

"Not without you." He managed to say, but Lin didn't hear him. He checked for a pulse. It was weak, but it was there, and if he didn't get them out of there she wouldn't have one for much longer. With what strength remained he rammed his shoulder against the trunk lid, but all he managed to do was let in a little more water. _Fuck._ He tried against despite the dizziness slowly overcoming him. Again no luck, and there was now even less time before they drowned. _Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck._ _Why was it so fucking hard to get out of here?_ There wasn't even some sort of emergency tab to pull. He managed to flip on his back, completely soaking his jeans and white a-shirt, and braced his legs against the lid. One… Two… Three… On three, he coiled his legs and kicked them out hard. The trunk's lock popped and water was rushing in even faster now, but it was still not opening. With the rushing water came a sliver of murky light. He positioned himself to try again.

It was within that light that he saw something, and it made him stop. A set of fingers. They ran along the opening until they reached the lock, then as quickly as they appeared, they retreated. There was a muted bang and the remains of the trunk's lock was blown away. 

Almost immediately, the remaining air in the trunk was swept away in a torrent of bubbles, and he had just enough sense remaining to hold his breath. A set of strangely familiar steel blue eyes looked from him to the unconscious Lin. There was some sort of breathing apparatus hooked up around his nose and mouth obscuring his lower facial features. With practiced efficiency, the stranger removed the device and slipped it around Lin's face.

With the device removed there was no doubt in his mind who the stranger was. It was a face he knew anywhere. It was his own. He stared in bewilderment at their rescuer, taking in the stranger's iridescent red chin length hair and the Saints Row fleur-de-lis tattooed on his neck. The stranger smirked at his gawking face and wrapped one similar tribal tattooed arm around Lin and then with his free arm, grabbed him.

As the stranger pulled the two of them to the water's surface he found it harder and harder to stay awake, despite the cold water and strong need to breathe air. Behind them, like a morbid banner, trailed a stream of red.

****

He woke with a start, breathing in the musty smell of his cramped apartment. He had been propped upright on the sofa chair, the wound on his side bandaged. _How did he get here?_ _And more importantly, where was Lin?_ It took some effort, but he managed to peel himself away from the chair and stand. Stars swam across his vision and he almost had to sit down again.

"I see you're up." Came a voice from behind him. Immediately he was filled with relief, and then brief embarrassment as he realized he had been stripped down to his underwear. The voice belonged to Lin. "I'm surprised, I was expecting ducks." Lin cast a downward glance to indicate she was talking about his grey boxers. "Nice tattoo though…"

Immediately, he looked down and noticed a tattoo he had never seen before. Just above his navel in plain black ink were the words 'Never Forget' written in a practiced cursive, still red and slightly inflamed. Below that was a date, marking the day Lin was forced to make the phone call that brought him to the Pool Hall.

Like him, Lin was changed out of her river drenched clothes, but unlike him, she was wearing more than just underwear. She had found a baggy t-shirt that he remembered buying at a concert a long time ago, and a pair of his jeans that were way too big on her.

"Any idea where we are?" Despite the loose fitting clothes she still managed to look sexy, especially now that her black hair was down instead of being trapped in its usual high bun.

"My place, I think…" He didn't know what to think from her expression. It was a mixture of disbelief and puzzlement.

"So you can talk? All this time I was thinking you were a mute." She looked over the apartment again, as if seeing it for the first time. "Your place huh?" She checked her phone which had somehow survived the whole ordeal. "Looks like we were out for a few days… I should probably call Julius." Her finger hovered over the speed dial.

He reacted quickly, surprising himself as much as Lin. "Don't. It might be bugged." He had grabbed the phone away from her.

She stared at her now empty hand, and contemplated his words. "You’re right, but someone still needs to deal with that fucker Sharp."

"He'll get what's coming to him. I'll go see Julius." 

****

He shouldn't have left her alone, but offering to talk to Julius for her put a look of relief on her face that he just couldn't ignore. His own phone rang from his jean pocket as he was jogging towards the church. It was Julius. "Did you catch the news? Looks like they found Lin's body floating in the river this morning. Sorry dawg. I know you did everything you could."

_ Lin dead? Then who was the woman in his apartment? _ His head swam, and it took all he had to not turn on his purple sneakers and run back to his place to see if she was actually there. 

****

Killing Sharp had been easy. Almost too easy. For the pain he brought the both of them, he wanted Sharp to have suffered more. At least the bastard Price had made it more interesting. "Are they dead?" Lin asked as she saw him enter the apartment.

He nodded.  _ She was still here. _ "But so are you…" He held up the newspaper he had spied upon on his way back to the apartment.

She took the paper from him, a skeptical look upon her face. There was a range of emotions on her face. Anger, sadness, bitterness, resentment, and then a strange calm settled upon her. "Does anyone else actually know the truth?"

Again he said nothing and just shook his head.

She laughed. It was a good sign, she hadn't done so since first being home bound, and that was due to stress. "Well, this is a good a time as any." He looked puzzled and Lin noticed almost immediately. "To start over…" She punched him lightly on the arm. "It's been a good run with the Saints, but look how good they are doing without me. No one' going to miss me…"

"I will…" He said meekly, surprised he even said it at all. Lin looked at him with a smile he couldn't quite place. With a controlled strength she grabbed his chin and forced his eyes towards her. With no words exchanged, she kissed him. Hard. He was resistant at first, the sudden action catching him off guard, but he adjusted to the change.  _ It just felt right. _ He leaned in, grabbing her surprisingly slender shoulders, as she raked her fingers through his short brown hair holding his head closer.

Like a drowning man coming up for air, he released her first. "What about Donnie?"

"What about him?" Again he was having a hard time reading her.  _ Was she playing coy or was she annoyed at the interruption? _

"I mean… I just thought…." She placed a finger over his lips.

"Shhh… we might have had a few things in common, but that was all. Did you really think I was his girl?" Despite asking a question, she didn't leave him anytime to respond before kissing him again. He slid his fingers through her raven hair and pulled her in tighter. He ignored the pain as her fingernails dug into his back leaving long angry lines.

They stumbled over one another as Lin navigated them towards the mattress lying on the floor. She had managed to knock him over and landed expertly on top. She toyed with him, pulling the t-shirt ever so slowly upwards, exposing her toned body.

"Wait…" The twinge of red on the white bandages around her waist made him hesitate despite how his nether region felt. "We can't do this."

Lin paused for only a moment as she clued into what the problem was. "Trust me on this, I'll be gentle." She leaned down, letting her long hair cover their faces like a veil as she kissed him, then drew lower to kiss his own bandages. "Besides, someone still owes me for those bullet holes you put into my ride." With a knowing hand, Lin guided his own hands over her hips and into the jeans, helping her to take them off. Then it was his turn as she undid his belt then started on the jean's button and zipper. 

It was awkward at first, mostly due to his inexperience with such matters, but Lin had been patient with him, guiding him slowly through the motions until their voices carried beyond the paper thin walls of his apartment.

****

That night of carnal desire still burned brightly in his mind when he awoke the next morning. He groaned, as the pain from the multiple scratches across his naked body and the physical exertion finally caught up with him. "Lin?" He called out. There was no response. His t-shirt and jeans, which had once clothed his Asian goddess now lay draped over the sofa chair. She was gone.


	3. A Saint’s River Rescue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm still half convinced the AI driving in the games had it out for me.

It had been strange to see Lin alive after so long, even if it was only the brief view of her well-toned backside.

The Boss struggled against the sudden violent urge to cap Sharp as the bastard planted a bullet in Lin and then into his younger self, but somehow, he managed to suppress it, focusing instead on the more immediate task at hand.

He fitted the breathing apparatus over his mouth and checked that his gun was cocked and loaded. The Boss heard the splash, waited for a painful few moments as Sharp drove out of sight, and dove into the murky water.

While his younger self had every good intention, his actions would only further doom Lin to the Stilwater River. The Boss swam with all his might, each stroke pulling him closer to the sunken white car. He watched as the trunk’s lid rocked and knew he only had a few more moments before the trunk filled with water, drowning the unconscious Lin inside. He reached the car and felt for the trunk’s latch knowing it would be the quickest way to get the trunk open.

The Boss only had one shot at hitting the latch as the .45 Fletcher would become inoperable after its chamber flooded with water. Holding the gun's muzzle close to where he had felt the latch, he took aim and squeezed the trigger. It broke in a flurry of bubbles revealing the confused expression of his younger self and Lin’s prone form.

While the Boss could do without breathing for the few seconds to the surface, he couldn’t say the same for Lin.

After affixing the breathing device to Lin’s face, he held her close under one arm and grabbed his dumbfounded younger self, pulling them upwards towards the sweet embrace of the air above.

He dragged his unconscious cargo to the river’s bank where Doc and Shaundi ran to meet him. Without a word, Doc was already kneeling over Lin, cutting through the bottom of her shirt with a pair of surgical scissors.

“How’d everything go with the papers?” The Boss asked Shaundi, as he tried to squeegee river water from his red hair.

“Surprisingly well, I think. Strange how none of the reporters didn’t bother asking how we got the information so early,” answered Shaundi.

“Not really. As long as they get a good story they don’t care where it comes from. You’ve seen the regular crap they put in those.”

Shaundi crossed her arms only half convinced. “Hey, think she’s going to be okay?” She waved a hand over to Lin and the doctor’s location.

“She’s tough. She’ll make it through."

Shaundi noted the hint of longing on the Boss’ face as he glanced at Lin’s prone form being checked over by Doc. “You liked her, didn’t you?”

“Yeah...” His answer slipped from his mouth before his brain could stop it. “Sorry.”

“Why are you apologizing?”

“I...”

“Look, I had a need, you had a need, we fucked. End of story.” The Boss suspected she was trying to assure him it was okay to have feelings for Lin, but it didn't make her words sting any less.

“Yeah. Guess you’re right.” He didn’t know what to make of Shaundi’s expression. _Was she wanting me to deny it?_ It would have been too much to hope for.

He wandered back over to the doctor, who had moved on to the Boss’ past self. “How are they doing?”

Doc looked up from his work, the usual look of disdain from the interruption on his sun-weathered face. “Stable enough that we can move them. I’d rather not be administering transfusions on a river bank.” With practiced motions, he finished wrapping up the bandage roll and stored it into the portable medical kit at his side.

It didn’t take long to get both bodies into the back of a beat-up truck the Boss had procured earlier. Despite the extra room in the cab for Doc to sit up with Shaundi and the Boss, he refused, wanting to watch his new patients in the truck bed on the off chance that anything should happen once they started moving. The Boss wasn’t going to argue, considering the usual driving practice of Stilwater's citizens, or lack thereof.

****

Shaundi quickly discovered the truck's lack of air conditioning and promptly cranked down the window. She leaned on the door and enjoyed the breeze that caught the loose strands of her tied-up hair.

Meanwhile, the Boss sat focused on the road, or at least trying to focus on the road. Both his hands were held white-knuckled on the steering wheel, as he tried desperately to keep his mind off of things, more specifically off of Shaundi.

And he was failing miserably. _Why was it so hard?_ He could get laid anytime he wanted. He didn’t need to bother with the trivialities of keeping a relationship. _Why did it matter?_ The Boss knew the answer. _Because he fucking cared._ He cared about what Shaundi thought about him, and it was eating him up inside.

He smacked his head down on the steering wheel as the Boss uncharacteristically slowed for a red light. The Boss didn’t think it would hit him this hard, how Shaundi felt about him, or his long dormant feelings for Lin bubbling to the forefront. All of it was taking a toll on his thoughts.

“Boss?”

His eyes shot open.

“Light's green.” Shaundi pointed out.

“Uh, yeah.” He nearly floored the gas before he remembered the injured parties in the back. The truck shook as it pulled forwards, slower than the Boss would have ever accelerated under normal circumstances.

****

Despite the multiple near collisions with vehicles and pedestrians alike, they pulled up to the apartment complex in surprisingly good shape.

The neighborhood was as shitty as he remembered it, if not more so as the truck lurched over the crumbling sidewalk to settle in front of the aging apartment building.

They stepped out of the truck and the Boss heard Doc mumble. "Maybe the river bank would have been more sanitary."

 _Too late now_ , thought the Boss. He reached into the truck bed and grabbed the large duffel bag containing Doc's supplies and handed them over to Shaundi. Next, he rifled through his younger self's pant pockets, pulled out the apartment key, and tossed it her way. "106." He said as she caught it.

Shaundi nodded, slinging the bag's strap over a shoulder, and headed towards the dilapidated building. She side-stepped a puddle of yellow-green lumpy matter.

"She needs to be taken care of first." The Doc gestured towards Lin.

The Boss could only agree, her nearly flawless skin was far paler than it should ever be. Carefully, they raised her off the truck bed the Boss taking most of Lin's weight as they carried her after Shaundi.

As the Boss and Doc made their way to 106, they had to step over some sad sop nursing a brown bag who only looked up briefly before returning to said bottle in hand.

The door was already open for them when they arrived. Propped open by a makeshift door jam, consisting of what the Boss suspected to be Freckle Bitch's wrappers and a neglected phone book.

"Boss, no offence but how can anyone live in this dump?" Shaundi asked from within the single room apartment. "Some of my Ex's had it bad, but this takes the cake. This place is filthy."

Filthy was a generous way of describing the mess littering the room.

Empty Chinese takeout containers were stacked haphazardly in the steel sink, and every viable surface on the kitchenette's counter and stove top was covered with dirty plates, plastic cutlery, and a half-empty pizza box. The area quartered off to be the designated 'living room' was nothing more than a busted single lounger and a rabbit-eared television set. The bathroom was just short of being a closet with a toilet - showers were strictly communal and by judging the regular smell of the apartment's occupants, something deemed an _optional_ necessity.

Fortunately, the curtained off area had remained relatively free of molestation, and comparatively to the rest of the room, the mattress that lay within was practically sparkling. Doc saw it and with one hand pointed. "There." Not that there was any other place to put her down, not without setting her on the grey crusty carpet. Grunting more than he should have, the Boss helped Doc lay Lin on top of the mattress. Both careful not to disturb the bandages that wrapped her midriff. "I'll start here. Go get the other one. I'd rather not stay in this landfill longer than I have to."

The Boss let the landfill comment slide. True it wasn't much to look at, but it had been his. The first place he could call his own after being forced out of his parent's basement. He just hadn't gotten around to cleaning up after its last occupant, and if he remembered correctly, his younger-self was still trying to move his things to one of the Saint's cribs. "Come on Shaundi," he said, albeit with less enthusiasm. "Let's get mini-me out of the truck."

****

Getting his younger-self into the apartment from the truck proved more difficult than moving Lin, mainly due to how much heavier he was rather than by how much weaker Shaundi was compared to Doc.

"Shit, if this was you like what, nine years ago? How much do you fucking weigh now?" Shandi half-griped, half-joked.

The Boss thought it was a fair question. He had always been naturally lean, and the steady diet of ramen, pizza, and Freckle Bitches certainly didn't consist of much nutrition. It wasn't until he joined the Saints that he even cared for his actual physical shape, nor for the amount of cash that eating healthy actually took. Nine years later, and through regular exercise and proper eating, his muscle mass almost doubled that of his scrawny past self. Unless you looked closely, you wouldn't even know he was the same person.

"Don't know," He admitted. "Just used a measuring tape to check how beef I was getting." The Boss teased. Though deep down it wasn't far from the truth, not that he'd actually admit to it.

Shaundi laughed. "Sure Boss."

"Just put that one in the chair. It looks clean enough," Doc quipped over his shoulder, barely looking up from the tangle of blood bag and IV drips dangling from the curtain's rod.

With some effort, the Boss and Shaundi flopped his younger self into the chair, propping his legs up on the barely functional recliner.

"If you two are finished over there, I'd like some space to work with my patients. It's too crowded in here."

"Got it Doc," the Boss and Shaundi said in almost unison.

Giving a half bow, the Boss held open the apartment's door for Shaundi. She jokingly mock curtsied then went on through, stepping once more into the less than desirable hallway. The door clicked behind them, but wouldn't be locked if they needed to re-enter. His apartment wasn't nearly expensive enough to have self-locking doors. The fact that it had a lock at all had been a rare bonus.

"So..." Shaundi began, leaning up against the peeling wallpaper and crossing her arms over her chest. "This where you got that scar?"

"Which one?" The Boss chuckled halfheartedly. He's gotten so many that he had started forgetting which ones he got where, though not the one Shaundi was referring to. That one he kept with him. A constant reminder of the reality he was living in. A constant reminder of what would happen if he failed his crew.

"That one," she said slipping up against him to brush the circle of white scar tissue just above his right collarbone with a slender finger.

Her breath tickled against his throat, reminding him how narrow and cramped the hall actually was. He prayed that she couldn't hear how fast his heart was beating. "Yeah, Doc did a good job, didn't he?" With a massive amount of effort, he pulled her hand away from his bare chest.

Shaundi's eyes widened. "The time loop thing works that fast?"

"Nah, just teasing you," he said with a smile, reluctantly dropping her hand. "Kinzie said things shouldn't catch up until we get back to our time. I got this one because instead of heading to the nearest hospital I ran after Sharp to cap his stupid ass. Not one of my brightest decisions I'll admit, though at the time..." The Boss shrugged. "Just couldn't let the fucker get away..." As he spoke the memories came tumbling back. The anguish of losing Lin and the burning hatred. The hatred that dulled the ache of his injury and drove him after Sharp's limo. The hatred that sent him weaving through traffic, up to the point where the limo's shot out tires finally lost traction. The whole thing ended wrapped around a goddamn tree, but Sharp was still alive...

There had been no thought for mercy, no shred of humanity as the lawyer crawled from the burning wreckage of his vehicle. Bleeding and torn, Sharp had crawled out to him offering him anything... _anything_ . But it was a lie. Sharp couldn't bring Lin back. _No one could_. The Boss had shot Sharp then and there, not even as a dog with rabies cliche. He had felt nothing. He had been empty inside.

"Boss... Boss you okay?" Shaundi was by his side. The smell of spilled gasoline and fire drifting away. "You sorta zoned out there. You alright?"

"Mmm. Yeah, I'm fine. Just... just got caught up thinking about things."

She eyed him warily, but didn't pursue it.

He sighed. "Point is I didn't get checked out until later. Much later. The wound got infected, and all the running around with a bullet in my shoulder certainly didn't help it out much. The whole fucking thing got pretty bad. They had me so hopped up on pills and antibiotics that I could barely tell which way was up..." His voice trailed off, a small smile on his lips. "Well you know how good I am with drugs."

Shaundi rolled her eyes. "A fucking lightweight even back then huh?" she said, eager to move the conversation in another direction.

"Hey-" was all the Boss managed to say before the door opened.

"If you two are finished talking, I'm all cleaned up here and I'd love to leave this pigsty."

"Umm, yeah. Shaundi, you and Doc can go ahead and meet up with Pierce. I'll be along in a few."

"You sure Boss?" Shaundi asked.

"I'm sure."

"Well, I'll send someone to watch the place in a bit. Best to minimize your exposure with 'mini-you'," she finger-quoted.

****

The Boss returned to the apartment, letting the door close behind him. All the memories he had of this place flooded back, the good and the bad. He stared at his slumbering counterpart. Maybe he could make some new ones.

Kinzie's nagging voice entered his head, adamantly warning him against the effects of time travel. The Boss heeded the advice as he usually does: with a grain of salt.

Struggling to pull his old tattooing kit out of a stack of dirty laundry and second-hand vinyls, he barely registered the steel barrel coming to rest at the back of his head. _Where did-?_ _Shit right._ He forgot about the VICE 9 Beretta he kept under the mattress, and with how thin the mattress was, it wasn't a big leap to guess how Lin had found it.

"Who are you?"

A shiver ran down his spine, and it wasn't from the gun pointed at him. It was that voice, that sweet melodious voice. "A friend," he replied, somehow managing to keep his voice level.

"Where. Am. I?" Lin rammed the barrel forward to help emphasize the seriousness of the situation.

"Umm, my place... no wait. I guess it's technically his place." The Boss gestured somewhere behind him, hoping he was pointing at least to the vicinity of where 'mini-him' was left.

"Right." She sounded unconvinced. "What's in the bag?"

"Tattooing stuff?"

"Uh huh. Pass it. Slowly."

He did as instructed, and handed over the small bag. Single-handed, she rifled through its contents of ink jars, needle stubs, silicone practice skin, and power supply. It took her a bit longer to inspect the machine itself as it had been tucked into a separate cardboard box. "What's it for?"

"Tattooing?"

"I think I can figure that much out myself, smart ass. What were you gonna use it for?"

"Uh..."

"Know what, don't answer that. Who were you going to use it on?"

"Him."

He felt the Beretta pull away from his head, and he dared to turn around. She was looking at the prone figure resting on the recliner, not to mention she was completely naked save for the bandages wrapping her middle; not that she currently seemed to mind. "Why?"

The Boss' eyes snapped away, and he hoped to quell his half chub before she noticed. "Figured he'd need a reminder."

"A reminder of what?"

"Of me saving his stupid ass." It came out more bitter than he intended.

"Then you were the one who pulled us from the river?"

"Yeah." He kept his answer precise, no reason to reveal more than he had to.

Lin placed the gun on a spare piece of counter. "So you like his brother or something?"

"Or something."

"Do you think he'll mind if I borrow a shirt?"

"Uh, what?"

"I'm naked, and I'm pretty sure you've noticed."

A blush crawled up the backs of his ears, and he wished the ground would swallow him. "Go ahead. There should be something clean in that dresser." He held out his arm to the ratty piece of furniture.

After a few solid minutes, the Boss figured it was safe enough to stand up. His legs were beginning to kill him from crouching so long anyway. She had decidedly picked out an old concert t-shirt and a pair of jeans, and seeing his clothes on her made some small part of him swell with pride. Like planting a flag on a hill or whatever.

He coughed to clear the lump in his throat. "Soooo… can I get my tattoo kit?"

"Oh. Sure. Knock yourself out."

The Boss grabbed up the amateur tattooing kit, and began to work, moving his hand in quick precise motions. Lin came over occasionally to inspect his work, though she seemed more interested in the apartment itself.

Once finished, he set the needle machine aside, and not to soon either as his younger self stirred. _Shit, he needed to leave now_. "I'll be back," he said, quickly packing up the kit and tossing it into a haphazard pile.

"Wait."

"What?"

"Thanks, I guess. For saving me too."

"Uh, yeah. No problem."

The door closed behind him, and he sighed leaning against the wall. _God, it's been so long_. He stayed for a little while, hoping that Shaundi's saint would come by soon to watch the place.

The thin walls did little to mute Lin's pacing footsteps, and he heard additional stirring coming from inside. "I see you're up," came Lin's voice. The Boss pulled himself away from the wall, and wandered out of the complex to see what was taking so long.

****

Apparently, what was taking so long had been an inopportune left turn into the side of a garbage truck. "Fuck," he replied to the news, cellphone gripped a little tighter in his hand.

"Yeah." Agreed Shaundi from the other end. "We're doing what we can to keep everything low-key on our end, but..."

"I'll make sure Lin stays in the apartment until we can get an extraction. What do we have on Sharp?"

"Kinzie's tracking him on the traffic cameras now. With luck, she can manipulate the lights so he bypasses close to where 'mini-you' will be walking. Speaking of which, how's that going for you?"

"Super fucking weird."

"I'll bet. Just make sure to remember that you don't actually meet. Something about messing with the whole fabric of time thing."

"So CID keeps reminding me. What's our..." He stopped, catching sight of the apartment door swinging open. His younger self emerged, giving a longing glance back at the closed door. "One sec Shaundi." The Boss ducked into the closest apartment, fortunately unlocked. He waited several seconds until he heard a set of footsteps pass, before heading back into the hall.

"Was it him?"

"Yeah, he's heading out."

"Good, I'll let Kinzie know." There was some muffled shouting in the background that sounded remotely like Shaundi passing along the message. "What were you asking earlier?"

"Just wondering what our estimated ETA is on that portal."

"Oleg and CID figure sometime tonight or early tomorrow. They'll know for sure the closer we get to it."

"Okay. Let me know of any updates."

"Will do Boss." He hung up the phone, nearly running into Lin as he entered the room. She looked about ready to go.

"I can't let you leave," he said, blocking her path with his body.

"And why the fuck not?"

"Because-" The rest of his words had been knocked out of him. Kinzie warned him that the more he changed the past, the bigger the backlash. What she didn't tell him is it would feel like a fucking freight train hit him, nor would it have happened so fast. _Her so called 'calculations' must have been off._ He keeled over and nearly puked his guts out. A pained sweat beaded down his forehead and bare back, and he struggled to pull air into his lungs. His abs burned, and his stomach twisted again. "Fuck," he groaned into the cheap linoleum, his arms wrapping around his middle.

Lin was kneeling over him, a look of concern flashing behind her cool, if not slightly irritated, exterior. "You alright?"

"Yeah," the Boss replied, managing to find his feet again. "I'm good."

"You sure?"

He clenched his fingers briefly, then released the death grip he had around his waist. "Yeah."

She looked at him skeptically, but something else painted her features as she stared at where his arms had been earlier. "Okay, that wasn't there before." Once so sure of everything, she appeared so confused.

He couldn't resist glancing down to where she had been staring. A fine black script was tattooed across his belly, its sharpness blurred over the years. _Shit_. He had forgotten that would be a side effect.

"That definitely wasn't there before." Lin repeated, this time a little more controlled. "And I definitely watched you put that same tattoo on the kid."

"Uh, would you believe we're psycho-synchronous twins?"

"I think you just made up that word, and I'm pretty sure you're too old to be twins with the kid. Who are you really?"

"The long story, or the short."

"Let's keep it short."

"Well, umm. I'm him. I guess."

Her look of skepticism, was not lost on the Boss.

"From the future," he added, giving a deliberate nod. He was totally not going to convince anyone _, but hey, for once it was the truth._

"Riiight. You serious?"

"As serious as I can be."

"Okay. If I didn't just see whatever that was, I would probably think you were a nut job. After seeing whatever that was... I guess you're a bit more believable."

"So you believe me?"

"I said a _bit_ more believable. There better be a good reason why I can't leave this shithole."

"Harsh. It's all the kid has you know."

"I know, that's why I hadn't mentioned anything earlier. Now," she started, stubbornly crossing her arms over chest. "Why the hell can't I leave?"

"You're dead?"

"S'cuse me? Last time I checked I was still breathing. Now if you don't want to be..." The Beretta shot out of seemingly nowhere and jabbed him roughly under the chin.

He gulped around the cool steel pressing into his adam's apple. "Well... you're supposed to be. You wouldn't have survived if I didn't interfere."

She contemplated his answer, the gun's barrel lowering ever so slightly. "So, what? What does that have to do with me now?"

"No one's supposed to know you're alive, like bad things happen I guess. To be honest I wasn't really listening to the 'don't fuck up the time stream' lecture." _Not one of his most convincing speeches_. "We're just trying to run damage control until we can get a way back," he admitted weakly.

"Then what happens? I'm guessing I have to take on a new identity or whatever."

"No. Too many risks with that, when the time comes I'm bringing you with me."

"And where is that exactly?"

"Nineish years from now? Look, point is I can't let you leave right now."

"Uh huh. And what's stopping me from blowing a hole in your head and just walking away?"

"Nothing, just maybe... gratitude? I've contacted my crew, they say we should be good to go by tomorrow. Until then can we just put the gun down and go back inside?"

Finally, Lin relented and tucked the gun into the back of her pants. "Fine, but I even think this is all going somewhere I don't like… the gun's getting used."

She let him lead her back into the apartment. "So, what _can_ I do in the meantime?"

"Anything really, just as long as it stays in here." His phone vibrated, and he took a quick look at the text he had just received. _'Sharp's dead. Your boy is heading home."_

"Anything?" asked Lin, drawing his attention from the glowing screen.

"Pretty much." He was getting strangely uncomfortable with how close she was getting, especially when 'mini-him' was likely to be back at any second. "Uhh, look I got to bail for a bit. Can I trust you to stay?"

"I don't know. Can you?" Lin replied with a devious smile on her face.

"You don't make anything easy, do you?"

"Who ever said I was easy?"

The Boss gulped, swallowing hard. He prayed it went unnoticed. "Right. Ummm, don't leave... please," he added quickly as he let himself out.

He took his time wandering his old digs, taking in the sights, sounds, and especially the pungent smells. Making sure to keep out of sight, he watched his younger self dash into the complex, nearly trampling an old woman in his hurry. "Slow the fuck down kid, you'll wear yourself out," the Boss mumbled to himself. He figured Lin would be safe enough with his past counterpart there, and although she was kidding with him earlier, he knew he could trust her to heed his words. _At least until the morning_.

The Boss slung himself across the cab seats of his truck, and settled down for a nap, first making sure that he had an alarm set for sometime early morning. He fell asleep to someone's broken record playing the chorus of 'Everybody Wants to Rule the World' over and over. _Yeaaaah, that wasn't going to get stuck in his head_ , he thought sarcastically.

As it turned out he didn't need to set the alarm. His phone decided to ring absurdly loud sometime around midnight. It rang for a while before he was awake enough to grope for where it had fallen near the brake pedal. "He...hello?" his voice was groggy, and he had a hard time keeping his eyes open. Night or day didn't matter, he just wasn't a waking up type of person.

"Jeez Boss, did I wake you? It's not even that late," came Shaundi's criticism from the other end of the line.

"Took a nap, had not much else to do." He yawned loudly, not even trying to hide it. "It's been pretty quiet, and if I remember, I got a long ass lecture about trying not to cause any trouble. Personally, I think I did fairly well."

"Yes, yes. I'll make sure you get a Scooby Snack or whatever when you get here."

"Har, har." He flipped his phone to his more dominant hand as he sat up. "Where's here?"

"We got set up in some old warehouse down in Fox Drive. Portal is ready to go, we just need you and Lin down here and we can leave."

"Right," he grunted peeling his bare skin off of the cheap plastic seat covers. "Be there as soon as I can. Apollo's should be nearby, I'll meet you guys there."

"Got it Boss."

He snuck around the back of the building coming up to the barred window of his old apartment. Casting a peek inside, his past self was out cold on the mattress, and Lin was already looking like she was ready to leave. Her cut open shirt tied closed, and her purple sweats back over her hips as she rifled through his mini-fridge. The Boss tapped softly on the glass just enough to catch her attention, but not enough that he'd wake 'mini-him'.

She heard it, and moved to the window to jimmy it open. "What's up?"

"My crew's waiting for us. You ready?"

"Yeah." Lin cast spared a look back at the softly snoring form. "Shame we have to leave him like this."

The Boss nodded, he knew what it was going to feel like. "He'll be okay."

"Right... Forgot."

"Don't worry about it."

****

He waved down a taxi, figuring it was a safer bet than hijacking a car, as after all, he was supposed to be 'lying low'.

"Fox Drive, Apollo's," he instructed, sliding in behind the driver. The cabbie nodded, then pulled back into the street nearly colliding with an oncoming van. Neither Lin or the Boss were phased by the near collision, it was just one of the perks of living in Stilwater.

The cab had grown silent for only a few minutes before Lin decidedly spoke first.

"So how long have you had that crush on me?"

"Excuse me?" If anyone asked, he'd refuse to acknowledge that his voice cracked.

"Look. I don't get those puppy dog eyes unless someone's been holding onto feelings for a damn long time. So spill. How long?"

"First of all, I don't do 'puppy dog eyes'..."

She rolled her eyes at that one, cutting his tirade short. "Sure, and the pathetic 'I'll miss you Lin', had nothing to do with it."

"I... that was years ago." _Goddamn, what had his past self been up to?_ Despite the partial backlash he received earlier, his memories still hadn't caught up.

"I'll say. I was your first, wasn't I?"

"Say what?"

"Your first lay." She laughed. _She fucking laughed_. "You were so fucking terrible at it."

Okay, if he could, he'd strangle his past self. _But damn_ , if he wasn't looking forward to getting those updated memories before, he sure as hell was now. "I'm gonna not answer that."

Seems he didn't have to. Lin just laughed anyway.

****

They arrived in one peace, which was the most you could ask for on Stilwater streets. The cabbie dropped them off a little farther than the Boss would have liked, but he didn't begrudge the walk. He badly needed to stretch his legs after being stuck in the cramped vehicle for so long.

"I've been meaning to ask, but what's with the whole shirtless thing. I mean I've seen you obviously wearing shirts before but..."

"But why not anymore?" finished the Boss.

Lin shrugged. "Well, it's not like I've known _this_ you for long, but it seems to be a trend."

The Boss rubbed the back of his neck, and let out a heavy sigh. "Well a few things went down after you... uhhh... died, and I kinda got blown up."

"Kinda? No one gets 'kinda blown up'."

"When the yacht you're standing on suddenly goes six-ways to Sunday and decides to take you with it?"

She paused mid-stride. "Okay, I admit, that fact that you're still breathing... That's kinda blown the fuck up."

He nodded. "Anyway, see that koi-fish tattoo on my back."

It took Lin a second, and for a moment the Boss thought it wasn't there anymore. "What, that weird splotchy one?"

"Yeah that one. Wasn't exactly intentional."

"Oh come on, everyone has one of those. You get drunk, bam, wake up with a tattoo you don't remember getting, except in your case: get ass blown up by boat bomb. So what, the doctors give that to you while you're in the hospital?"

"Prison, but sorta. Quick question, what happens when cheap polyester meets flame?"

"It melts?"

"Yup. It fucking melts. And what happens to cheap ink on said fucking cheap shirt."

"No way." She grinned in that sort of disbelieving way.

"They got the shirt off, but the ink was a little more permanent. I bet the docs thought it was hilarious. Even more so when I woke up later and found that the impromptu tattoo itches like hell every time I actually wanted to put something on."

"Guess it fucking sucks to be you."

"Eh, you get used to it. I'm just glad it was that shirt, and not something else."

"You had something worse in your closet than a shirt covered in fish?"

"You have no idea."

"Damn. Now you've made me regret not snooping more through that awful apartment of yours."

The Boss stayed silent as he pulled open the glass-paned door to Apollo's. He had never been to this particular donut shop, but it didn't appear to be significantly different to the others. Familiar beige walls, familiar grungy beige floors, a grumpy employee wishing that he would go away. _Yup, seemed like the same as the others._

Sitting innocuously at the back in a worn-down booth, Shaundi waved the pair down.

"Glad you could finally make it Boss," she said.

"Boss?" Lin raised a manicured eyebrow at him, and he chuckled nervously.

"A lot of things have happened..."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I apologize if I characterized Lin wrong... she just shows up for so little in the game... also man has it been awhile since I last updated any of my Saints Row fics. Thanks to all you peoples that have stuck around for this series.


End file.
